Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has decided to set up nine hospitals in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and 17 new dispensaries in Gujarat.

The decision was taken in the 192nd Meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation held on Friday at ESIC Headquarters under the Chairmanship of Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli also attended the meeting as Vice-Chairman.

According to a labour ministry statement issued late in the evening on Friday, nine new ESI hospitals in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and 17 new dispensaries in Gujarat will be set up under the ESI Scheme to improve the healthcare infrastructure.

To neutralise the impact of inflation, the proposal to increase the basic rate of Permanent Disablement Benefit (PDB) and Dependant’s Benefit (DB) was also approved by ESI Corporation, the statement said.

The PDB is paid at the rate of 90 per cent of wages in the form of monthly payments, depending upon the extent of loss of earning capacity as certified by a Medical Board.

The DB is paid at the rate of 90 per cent of the wage in the form of monthly payment to the dependants of a deceased insured person in cases where death occurs due to employment injury or occupational hazards.

However, the statement did not mention the earlier rate of PDB and DB.

The ESIC also decided to increase the number of beds in its hospitals in Bibvewadi, Maharashtra, and Rourkela, Odisha.

The sanctioned bed strength is set to increase from 100 to 120 and from 75 to 150 in ESIC hospital in Bibvewadi and Rourkela, respectively, as ESI Corporation accorded the approval for the same during the meeting, the statement noted.

To provide all the super speciality treatment facilities hassle-free and under one roof, the proposal for the development of ESIC Hospital Andheri, Mumbai, as a multi-speciality hospital with a capacity of 500 beds was approved, it stated.

The step is taken to modernise the facilities in the hospital to provide IPs (insured persons) and their dependents with modern treatment facilities.